Burning Bright
by Star Mile
Summary: Ever wondered what would happen to Yuki if Kyo did beat him? Kyo gets to be free of the cage, but what’s Yuki’s punishment for losing to the cat? There must be a punishment, right? Shounen aiYaoi YK You have been warned.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note: **I know! I know! I should be working on "Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry" but I'm sort of, as someone I know puts it, "in a funk."

I had the next chapter written out, and I was letting it sit so I could go back and catch grammatical errors, but when I went back to read it, it was gone. xx Yeah, I know. Then, I went back to rewrite and couldn't remember most of it. xx I know… I should be shot. crawls in a corner and hides So here's a little something that came to me in a dream. It's sort of angsty, but lately, that's what all of the vibes I keep getting are. I wrote this while listening to "Burning Bright" by Shinedown. Sadly, I don't own that either, but you should listen to it!

**Summary:** Ever wondered what would happen to Yuki if Kyo did beat him? Kyo gets to be free of the cage, but what's Yuki's punishment for losing to the cat? There must be a punishment, right? (Shounen ai/Yaoi Y/K) You have been warned so don't waste your time reading this if it isn't your cup of tea. And don't tell me you didn't know that it was **YAOI/SHOUNEN AI **either. I hate such liars. I will immediately cut you down in a review of my own. And you will be added to a list of shame on my profile page.

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Burning Bright

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Yuki stared out the foggy window. Lately, Kyo had been challenging him more and more. It was starting to bother him. Kyo had never challenged him so frequently, and Kyo was hurt badly from the repeated fights. It wasn't that Yuki had purposely meant to hurt him that bad, Kyo just over-exerted himself and didn't know when to give up. He kept picking himself up off the hard ground, bruises and cuts covering his skin where the cloth had been ripped and torn. As he attacked Yuki again, more hits were made and bruises overlapped and cuts tore deeper.

Today was the last day before their graduation. Tomorrow, Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Hana, and Uo would graduate together. Everyone seemed to be happy, well almost everyone. Tohru was ecstatic; she had managed to keep up her promise to her mother, and she had been accepted to a local college with hopes of becoming a nurse when she got out. Uo and Hana had also been accepted, so the three of them decided to room together if at all possible. But Kyo…Kyo was not so at ease.

Yuki watched each day as the cat paced the hard, wooden floors of his room. The dark circles beneath his eyes gave proof that he hadn't been getting much sleep over the last few days; Yuki was surprised that he could still fight at all. But he challenged him, nonetheless, the fierce sort of determination fading quickly from his scarlet eyes. Each day brought new defeat, and with each defeat, the haze thickened.

A sharp knock on his door jerked Yuki from his thoughts. Silently ambling across the room towards the door, Yuki heard faint whispers seep through.

"It's the last day…he'll be here tomorrow. I can't go there…I just can't…"

"Hello? Come in," he spoke softly as he slid the paper door open. Yuki stared into dull ruby eyes as the figure in front of him jerked slightly.

"Yuki…I want to fight you! Now!" Kyo said hastily, yanking the boy harshly out into the dim hallway. "We have to fight now!"

Snatching the hand away from his shirt, Yuki gave Kyo a baffled look. "What are you talking about? It's like eleven 'o'clock, you stupid cat! We can't fight now, we might wake Miss Honda or Shigure!"

"I don't care if they get woken up! I have to fight you! No, I have to beat you, you damn rat!"

"Fine, if you want a fight, you better make it worth my time." Yuki quickly made his way downstairs and out the front door, Kyo a few steps behind him.

Yuki waited, his stance showing years of practice and determination. Kyo quickly ran in, hot-headed and not giving a damn about any technique. He just knew he had to win, somehow. Punches were thrown, hits deflected, and kicks were avoided. The same as always. Yuki quickly grabbed Kyo's fist as it whizzed by his face and threw him onto the ground, then stepped back. But Yuki never expected the results.

Small sniffles and sobs were heard as the neko pulled himself to his hands and knees, desperately trying to get back to his feet to finish what he started. Yuki stared wide-eyed as the ginger-haired teen turned to face him, cheeks stained with tears and new ones forming in his once lifeless eyes.

_Kyo…Kyo's crying…but why?_

As if the tears were a sacred form of strength, Kyo's attacks came more quickly, with more force and desire behind them. Yuki, still shocked at seeing the brash individual shed such tears, was caught off-guard. That one short moment held the fate of them both…and it was all the time Kyo needed. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the punch connected with the silvery haired teen's jaw, knocking him over and sending him into a nearby tree. Yuki didn't move as he rubbed his slowly bruising cheek. The single punch was all that was needed to classify it as a win. The first punch he threw that ever connected.

As if not believing that he had finally bested the rat, Kyo took a defensive stance and waited for what he would receive for such a hit. But that was it. It was over. The cat had finally defeated the rat, but the tears were still pouring.

"Why?"

It was simple question, a one-syllable word, that held so much uncertainty and fear. The silvery-haired teen sat quietly at the base of the tree, the three-letter word forming once again on his lips.

"Why?"

Kyo put down his arms and stood limply before the rat. Tears still streaming, head still pounding, heart still breaking. He opened his pale lips, crimson blood dripping from a small cut, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he struggled to find the words. "Why? It seems like such an easy question to answer doesn't it? Why do I want to beat you, Yuki? Or is it that you ask why I'm crying? The answer should be simple. Because I'm the cat and you're the rat, and I've always wanted to beat you. But if I told you that, it'd be a lie." Kyo took a few hesitant, weary steps towards the nezumi. "You want the truth, Yuki?"

Yuki still shocked, and now cold as a light shower came, drenching them both, but neither making any move to go back inside, said nothing. He just stared at the boy before him, wishing he knew what was going on inside the mysterious mind of his opponent.

"I don't like fighting you, Yuki. I never have. Did you really think that I'd want to hurt you…hurt the one…that I love so much? I don't hate you. I never have. I may have been jealous of you along the way, but there was always so much there that I admired. Beating you was a requirement. For what you ask? For that stupid deal, of course. A ha, but you wouldn't know of said bet, would you? I hate that, too, the way I have to keep secrets from you. But I've won now, so I guess it's okay if I tell you, even if he didn't give me permission.

"'You'll be locked up. When you turn 18 and graduate from high school, I'm going to throw you in that cage, my foul pet. I'll make you mine, and I'll make you want it, need it…beg for it. You'll need me and that hard course of sexual desire and punishment that you know I'll bring. I'll give you one chance out, if you so desire. You have to defeat him. Yes…You have to beat Yuki. In martial arts, yes that sounds nice.' That's what he told me. Beat you or be locked up to be his sex slave for the rest of my fucking life. I hated it.

"I hated it so much," Kyo whispered as he fell to his knees in front of his so-called rival. "Every time I tried to bruise your beautiful face, or mar that graceful body, it hurt deeper than anyone will ever know. Do you know what it's like to have to fight the one you love? To have to try to cause them physical pain for the sake of your own being?" By this time, Kyo had reached out and cupped Yuki's delicate, stunned face in his hand, his thumb gently stroking his ivory cheek. Tears were still streaming down both of their faces, mixing with the fresh rainwater.

"I thought about it for the longest time. Asking myself, 'Do I really want to hurt him just so I can be free?' I decided at one point that I didn't. That's when I went to the mountains. But the more I thought about it, the more I despised the thought of becoming what he wanted. I mean, at least if I fought with you, I could touch you, I could talk to you, I could be with you, and if by some miracle I beat you, then I would just get to spend more time with you. Today was the last day. The deal ends today. I had to beat you, or tomorrow morning at graduation would have been the last time I ever got to see you or talk to you, even if it was empty threats and curses of hate."

Lithe limbs darting out and wrapping around his neck, Kyo felt himself being pulled into a tight embrace. Yuki's chest heaved as painful sobs racked his body. The tears of pain, joy, hope, love, and bittersweet victory fell from Kyo's now vibrant orbs. He curled up between the nezumi's legs, his arms snaking around his waist as the two sat entwined and both weeping after sudden realization.

"Kyo…oh Kyo, I never hated you either. It was all I was ever told by Akito. He always told me that I couldn't let you defeat me. He never told me why. He just told me that I couldn't let you beat me, and for fear of what he meant, I never did. I've only held admiration for you. You're always able to express what's on your mind, you always attract others to you, and you're free of everything that binds me to this wretched family. You've got a fiery spirit that I can't help but be attracted to. I was worried about you these last few days. You've been trying so hard, and I hurt you so bad without meaning to. I'm so sorry Kyo…"

Smiling as he reluctantly pulled himself from Yuki's embrace and to his feet, Kyo held out his hand. "It's okay…let's just go inside…I'm getting kinda cold. You know what the rain does to me."

Walking hand in hand, with Yuki supporting Kyo most of the way, they silently made their way back inside the house careful not to disturb it's other occupants.

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The five teenagers sat together with diplomas in hand. They were gathered together in a booth at an American-style restaurant. Tohru, Hana, and Uo sat across from Yuki and Kyo, Shigure sitting in a chair pulled up to the end. They were all laughing and talking about their futures and the speech Yuki gave as valedictorian. Things were looking up, Kyo had defeated Yuki and word was sent to Akito that morning via Hatori and they had all managed to graduate.

But such happiness rarely lasts forever.

Violet orbs widened in shock and the porcelain cup in hand shattered as it connected with the hard table. Yuki stopped speaking immediately as the sickly figure entered the café. Kyo's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the individual. Akito. Hatori stood slightly behind him, glancing at Shigure before turning his attention back to Yuki. The dark haired figure slowly slinked over to where they were sitting. Yuki, sitting on the outside edge, slid in closer to Kyo as Akito approached.

Kyo's hand quickly sought Yuki's under the table in a protective and possessive manner. "Why'd you come here? I beat the damn rat. You can't take me away."

Akito's sneered down at them both then leaned in close to Yuki's face. "Ah, my precious Yuki, what have I always told you? You should never let the cat defeat you. And you should hate him. Is such hate obvious in the way you are grasping his hand like a frightened child?" Akito picked up a shard of the broken tea cup and placed it dangerously close to Yuki's cheek. "Is the hate that you both share evident in the way you lean into him, away from this glass? The way his eyes seem to be boring holes into me as I hold it here?" Akito s the side of Yuki's cheek with the shard, crimson blood quickly rising to the surface to run down his ivory cheek.

"You get the fuck away from him!" Kyo's hand quickly grabbed Akito's wrist before he made another cut. "I won! So why are you here?" Kyo quickly looked to Shigure and Hatori who were doing nothing to restrain Akito. Kyo made eye contact with Shigure briefly before the novelist turned away.

Letting out a manic laugh, the sickly, dark haired teen smiled wickedly at Kyo. "You shouldn't have run out so quickly that day. You would've heard the rest of the deal. You ran out so quickly after agreeing to it that you missed the entire second part, my pet." He slid his bony fingers through Yuki's silver locks. "'If you should defeat the rat, then he becomes mine in your place. No matter what, I will have one of you. It's up to you to decide.' Life is cruel that way, isn't it? You seal his fate or your own. Either way, you lose and I win. Give up your freedom or the freedom of the one you love the most."

The words were dripping with venom and Kyo stared helplessly as Akito pulled Yuki from the booth, Hatori and Shigure long since pinned Kyo to the seat. Yuki was in shock, with tears gleaming on his cheeks, as he was dragged to the vehicle outside. He was struggling against the sickly looking figure, but his appearance hid an immense amount of strength.

"We can't help it, Kyo. You know that he's the head of the family. We can't go against him," Shigure said slowly as Hatori drove away with Yuki and Akito in the back. You made the deal, even if it was a bad one."

Shigure helped Kyo to his feet so that they could make their way back home. He kept a close eye on Kyo. Knowing the way the brash teen thought, he would most likely rush to the main house to rescue Yuki. Not that it would do any good.

Uo and Hana had long since whisked Tohru away from the commotion. They had mumbled something about leaving the family to speak and going to Hana's. Not that anyone at the moment even cared.

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Kyo laid helplessly on Yuki's soft bed, breathing in the sweet scent of his transient lover. They had only just admitted having feelings for each other, and then they had been ripped apart suddenly. Kyo smiled as he remembered the night before and how Yuki's arms had felt around him. He had embraced Kyo in a loving hug all night. Slowly, he would run his arms up Kyo's back, comforting him and smiling down at him as he buried his face in his chest.

I love you, Kyo.

Tears rapidly flooded Kyo's eyes as the memory of the tender words flooded his mind. Could Yuki really be gone? Could Akito just take him like that? Kyo loved Yuki so much. Could he really have sealed Yuki's fate by being the brash and stupid cat that he is?

_I love you too, Yuki._

Could Kyo really being giving up on the one he loved most? What happened to the fiery passion that Yuki fell in love with? What kind of lover would he be if he just left Yuki in that place?

Sitting up abruptly and racing through the door, Kyo paused only to grab the dagger his master had bought him as a gift when he turned sixteen. He would put an end to this constant fear of Akito. He would regain what was taken from him. He wouldn't let his love die in that place so many called home.

---- **Fin?** ----

Yes, I know. Sucky ending. But what can I say? I started this like a month ago. I might add another chapter where Kyo gets Yuki back and we get a view into what Akito has done to Yuki. I dunno. You guys let me know in your review. Well it's finished and I'm going off to work on "Chapstick." I wrote this to sorta get back into the drive of writing but I'm not sure it's helped. Sorry guys, I'm still trying at least:S

Fire-Arisa-Ice--


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